Gen 9 OU Tier List 2026: The Best Pokémon for Ranked Singles

The short answer: Gen 9 OU right now is built around a handful of Pokémon that either remove hazards reliably, break through bulky cores, or clean up late games at high Speed. Gholdengo, Kingambit, Great Tusk, Landorus-Therian, Dragapult, and Garganacl show up on the largest share of ranked teams. The rest of this list groups the supporting cast by the job each one does, not just by raw power, because "best" in OU always means "best at a specific role."

This is a snapshot, not a permanent ranking. Smogon's tier council adjusts the OU banlist as usage data comes in, so treat this as a starting point and cross-check against Smogon's live usage stats before you lock a team in. Every Pokémon below is fully buildable today in the Metamons team builder; pick OU as the format and the legal sets filter automatically.

Wallbreakers and setup sweepers

• Kingambit. Supreme Overlord scales its attack with every fainted teammate, turning it into a one-Pokémon win condition in the late game. Sucker Punch picks off faster threats that try to revenge it.
• Iron Valiant. High-Speed special and physical attacker with a coverage movepool wide enough to threaten almost any defensive answer.
• Roaring Moon. Dragon Dance plus Dragon/Dark STAB hits most defensive cores hard once it's set up.

Pivots and hazard control

• Gholdengo. Steel/Ghost typing leaves it without a clean switch-in for most teams, and Recover keeps it alive across a full game.
• Great Tusk. Rapid Spin removes hazards while Ground-type bulk lets it check a wide swath of physical attackers.
• Landorus-Therian. Intimidate softens incoming physical hits and it sets Stealth Rock in the same slot.

Bulky defensive anchors

• Garganacl. Purifying Salt blocks status, and Salt Cure plus Recover lets it stall out matchups that would otherwise be unwinnable.
• Toxapex. Regenerator and a strong defensive typing make it the backbone of most stall and bulky-offense builds.
• Slowking-Galar. Future Sight plus a strong special bulk profile gives slower teams a way to break past defensive cores.

Speed control and revenge killers

• Dragapult. The fastest reliable dual-STAB attacker in the tier, built to clean up after the rest of the team has worn the opponent down.
• Iron Bundle / fast Choice Scarf users. Whatever's fastest in the current meta tends to rotate through this slot, since the role matters more than the specific name.

How to read a tier list like this

A tier list only tells you what's common, not what beats your team. Before copying any of these directly into a build:

1. Check what each Pokémon is weak to, and whether your own roster stacks those weaknesses. The type coverage guide walks the audit.
2. Confirm the set (item, EVs, moves) you're copying still matches the current banlist. Smogon updates sets as the meta shifts.
3. Don't draft six "best Pokémon" picks with no shared game plan. Read how to build a Smogon team for the role-first process that turns a list like this into an actual roster.

Related Pokémon to study

Open any of these in the Metamons Pokédex for full stats, abilities, and a live type-matchup read:

• Gholdengo
• Kingambit
• Great Tusk
• Landorus-Therian
• Dragapult
• Garganacl

Next steps

1. Pick three or four names from this list that share a game plan, not just raw power.
2. Build the supporting core around them using the Smogon team-building guide.
3. Run the type coverage and Speed tier checks before your first ranked game.
4. Re-check this list periodically, since OU shifts every time the tier council bans, frees, or suspects a Pokémon.